The finding is significant, because insects play vital roles in plant pollination, decomposition, and soil processing. They also form essential links in ecological chains as plant-eaters, predators, and parasites.
The loss of keystone insect species -- those on which a large number of other species depend -- could be especially detrimental for ecosystems and people.
In the end, it's usually the little things that kill you.
Keep in mind as we bemoan the imminent demise of the insect world as we know it, a similar scourge is at work even lower on the food-chain, filling our oceans with sprawling hypoxic dead zones. It's likely the first domino has already fallen.
On a more positive note, maybe we'll be able to put the pieces back together after everything's fallen apart:
Spider blood found in 20 million year old fossil
The droplets are the first identified examples of spider blood ever found in an amber fossil. It is possible the blood could be used to extract DNA.
(Via Betterhumans.)
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